Apparatus for enveloping letters and the like.



O. WIDMAIBR.

APPARATUS FOR ENVELOPING LETTERS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 28, 1913 1,1 20,576. Patented Dec. 8, 1914 4 SHEETSSHEET 1.

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[ 5 u F1 9 l fay/[M4 mrmww 0. WIDMAIER.

APPARATUS FOR ENVELOPING LETTERS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION TILED AUG. 28. 1913.

Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

O. WIDMAIER.

APPARATUS FOR ENVELOPING LETTERS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 28, 1913.

1,1 20,576. Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

J2 55 if:

JE ZZ 25 O. WIDMAIBR. APPARATUS FOR ENVELOPING LETTERS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 28. 1913.

Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

1 Z ai OTTO WIDMAIER, 0F LEIPZIG, GERMANY.

APPARATUS FOR ENVELOPIN G LETTERS AND THE LIKE...

Application filed August 28, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OTTO WIDMAIER, manufacturer, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at No. 6 Beuchaerstrasse, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Enveloping Letters and the like, of which the following is a specification.

The present method of enveloping letters and the like consists in folding up the letter, placing it in the envelop and sealing the latter.

The object of the present invention is to effect these three operations in one single operation by mechanical means. This object is attained according to the invention by folding a sheet of paper and the note paper simultaneously so that the former forms the envelop which is then sealed.

In the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 illustrates an envelop-sheet with its associated letter-sheet in one stage of its folding process; Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, the letter-sheet having been folded upon itself once; Fig. 3 illustrates the letter as finally folded by the machine of the present invention; Fig. 4 is a side view, partly in section, of the preferred form of machine; Fig. 5 is a plan view of the machine illustrated in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is an end view, partly in section, of the machine illustrated in Figs. l and 5; and Fig. 7 is a plan view of a preferred form of sheet-supporting bed or table.

In Figs. 13, 62 designates the envelop paper and 63 the letter placed thereon. The envelop paper in this case only projects beyond the letter at three sides (Fig. 1), the note-paper projecting beyond one side of the envelop paper. In enveloping, the letter is first of all folded on the line A-B, so that the associated sheets have the appearance shown at Fig. 2, whereby two flaps on the left hand side of the envelop paper engage over the once folded letter. After the moistening operation, the letter and envelop are folded on the line CD, this concluding the enveloping process (see Fig. 3). The machine for this purpose comprises the frame 1, which is partly covered by the plate 2 screwed to the frame. The plate 2 is provided with a slot 3 disposed transversely to the machine, the edges of the walls of said slot being bent downward. Underneath the slot, and arranged parallel Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial No. 787,090.

thereto, are two rollers 4.- and 5 mounted on the frame 1, the roller 5 being adjustable and pressed toward the roller 1 by a spring 6, the compression of which can be regulated.

Mounted in the opposite side of the frame parallel to the other rollers 4., 5, is a third roller 7, which is connected to the roller 5 by conveyer bands 8, and is disposed at such a height that the bands 8 passing around the roller 5, underneath the roller 4,

Patented Dec. 8, 1914. 6

to roller 7 and returning from the latter to roller 9 have a travel substantially horizontal from one end of the machine to the other. In order to provide the conveyer bands with the requisite tension weighted jockey pulleys 9 are provided. Arranged above the slot 3, and adapted to cooperate therewith, is a fold blade 10, which is fixed to an arm 11 extending over the plate 2.

This arm 11 is mounted on a shaft 12 journaled in the frame 1 parallel to the rollers 4 and 5. Keyed to the same shaft 12 through a sleeve d6 is a lever 13 provided with a roller 14, which coacts with a cam 15 and, serves to impart an intermittent rocking movement to the arm 11. The cam'l5 is mounted on a shaft 16 likewise mounted,

in the frame 1 parallel to the shaft 12, said shaft 16 being driven by the main shaft 21 I through gears 17, 18, 19, 20. The gears'18 and 19 are mounted above the main shaft 21, and the gear 19 also meshes with the gear 22 on the shaft of the roller 4, said gear 22 meshing with the gear 23 on the shaft of the roller 5. By this means the rollers 4 and 5 are also driven from the main shaft 21.

At the side of the plate 2, and close up to the underside of the upper travel of the y bands is another Plate 24, which has a stop 25 projecting between the bands 8 and is provided with a slot 26 similar to the slot 3 but disposed at right angles to the latter. Underneath the slot 26 and parallel thereto are two rollers 27, 28, the i roller 27being driven through gears 30, 29, by the shaft 31 mounted at right angles to the main shaft 21; while the roller 28 is.

driven by the roller 27 by friction.

The shafts 31 and 21 are connected by bevel gearing 32, 33. Extending down from the underside of the rollers 27, 28 to another pair of rollers 35, 36 is an inclined plane 3-1, while a depositing plate 37 arranged substantially in the same plane as.

the plane at passes downward from the rollers 35, 36. The roller 35 is likewise driven from the shaft 31 by gears 38, 39, 4L0 and 30, and the roller 36 is friction driven. Arranged above the plate 2% is a gumming or moistening device 41, which is rectilinearly guided by its pins 12 in a double arm 43 fixed to the frame 1, so that the lower edge of the gumming device moves up and down. parallel to the plate 24. This reciprocating movement is imparted to the device 11 by an arm 4% and link 45. The arin 44 is pivoted through its sleeve 46 upon the shaft 12, and is intermittently raised latter being guided ,on the frame 1.

and lowered by an arm 47 connected to the sleeve 16 and providedwith a roller 49,

,which cooperates with the cam 48 on the -Sl12tft' 16. A fold blade 50, carried by an ar1n.;51, cooperates with the slot 26. The arm 51 is keyed to a shaft 52 journaled in the frame 1, said shaft having another arm 53, which carries a roller 54 which coop-v erates with a cam 55 on .the shaft 16, thereby imparting an intermittent rocking movement to the arm 51. The latter is provided with two depending extensions 56 which .are pivoted to twohcatching arms 57, Itple e ends 58 of said arms project throughopen- -ings 59 in theinclined plane 34: when the fold blade 50 is in its raised position, but

. when the latter is lowered retract from the plane 34. i

The plate 2 is provided with adjustable "angle pieces 60, 61, of which 60 serves as an abutment for the paper sheet 62 serving to form the envelop, and 61 as an abutment for the sheet of note paper .63. Mounted in the corners of the angle pieces 60, 61 are rotating brushes 6%, 65, which may be connected in any desired manner to the driving shaft of the machine, and which serve to guide the paper sheets placed in the machine exactly into the position determined bytheabutments 6'0, 61, and to hold them in this position.

The operation of the device is as follows:-After the sheet of paper .62 adapted I. to form the envelop, and the sheet of note paper 63 have been placed on their table,

the note paper being'placed on top of the envelop sheet, the fold blade 10 operates and folds the sheets along the line AB,

v ,-(Fig. 1) by pressing them through the slot 3.

The two sheets are then engaged by the rollers 4, 5, and leaving the latter are conveyed by the conveyer bands 8 to the plate 24. Both sheets appear then as shown at Fig. 2, the sheet of note paper lying once folded on the sheet 62, which latter projects on. three sides beyond the folded sheet of note paper, while the fourth side provided with the specially formed edge is folded over the sheet of note paper 63. As soon as the two sheets meet the abutment 25.v by.

which they are held fast, the gumming or moistening dev1ce41 descends and either gums or moistens, according to whether the letter isto be sent by letter or book post,

the edges of the sheet 62 being indicated in Fig. 2 by a, b or by a, b, and 0. As soon as this is accomplished, the deviceil rises and the fold knife 50 becomes operative and by pressing both sheets along the line 6-1) (Fig. 2) into the slot 26 folds them. The

sheets are hereby engaged by the pair of rollers 27, 28 and transferred to the inclined plane 34, whereby the pressureof the two rollers presses together the moistened gummed edges. As soon as the envelop which is now in a finished condition and incloses the note paper is released by the rollers 27, 28 it slides down the inclined plane Mr-to the catching arms 58, which first of all hold it until the fold blade 50 makes the next fold. When this has been effected, the catching arms withdraw and the. finished envelop passes between the rollers 35,

36, which press. the envelop again and transfer it to the depositing plate 37. As previously mentioned the device 41 may either be in the form of an adhesiveapplying de vice or a moistening device, in the latter case the corresponding edges of the sheet 62 would of course have to be already gummed. According to the manner in which the sheet 6 2 is gummed,'or the man-'- ner in which the device 4C1 applies the ad hesive, the envelop will be sealed at all four edges or one side willbe open. In the latter case the note paper is prevented from falling out of its envelop by the unsealed edge velop-sheet, a pair of feed-rollers disposed beneath said plate, and a folding means comprisingv a pivoted folding-blade arranged to thrust said letter-sheet with its envelop-sheet through the slit to said rollers; a second slitted feed-plate, the slit of said plate being disposed at right-angles to the plane of the slit of the first plate, a pair of; feed-rollers beneath said second plate, a second folding means comprising a folding-blade arranged to thrust the letter-sheet and envelop through a Y the slit of said second feed-plate, atraveling band adapted to transport the letter-sheet and envelopfrom the first folding-means-to the second folding-means, and a vertically movable guin moistening device above the second feed-plate.

2. In a machine for folding and enveloping letters, a primary folding-device, a secondary folding-device arranged at rightangles to the primary folding-device, means for transporting a letter-sheet with its envelop-sheet from said primary folding-device to said secondary folding-device, a gumming-device in proximity to said secondary folding-device, a pair of rollers between which the folded envelop with its letter is fed from the secondary folding-device, an inclined chute arranged to convey the enveloped letter from said rollers, and a pair of sealing-rollers near the discharge end of said chute.

3. In a machine for folding and enveloping letters, a primary folding-device, a secondary folding-device arranged at rightangles to said first folding-device, means for transporting a letter-sheet with its envelopsheet from said primary folding-device to said secondary folding-device, a gumming device in proximity to said secondary folding-device, said secondary folding-device including a pair of rollers, a swinging blade adapted to fold the envelopand lettersheets and to push the same between said rollers, an inclined chute arranged to convey the enveloped letter from said rollers, a pair of sealing-rollers near the discharge end of said chute, and catch-arms connected to and controlled by said folding-blade and adapted to intercept the enveloped letter before it reaches said sealing-rollers.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OTTO VVIDMAIER. Witnesses:

RUDOLPH FRICKE, DORIS KRAHL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. 0. 

